SAJ-2024-02952 (SP-AJC)

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: The Jacksonville District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has received an application for a Department of the Army permit pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. §1344) and/or Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. §403). The purpose of this public notice is to solicit comments from the public regarding the work described below:

If you are interested in receiving additional project drawings associated with this public notice, please send an e-mail to the project manager by electronic mail at Allison.J.Cala@usace.army.mil.

APPLICANT: Robert  Price

                     Lee County

                     1500 Monroe Street

Fort Myers, Florida 33901

WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect aquatic resources associated with Sailfish Canal. The project site is located along Sunshine Boulevard from State Road 82 to 17^th Street SW; at latitude 26.5816° and longitude -81.678°; in Lehigh Acres, Lee County, Florida. The project is located within Sections 2, 11, 13, and 14 of Township 45 South and Range 26 East.

EXISTING CONDITIONS: The project is located within a very populated and developed portion of Lehigh Acres Subdivision, in Lee County. Sunshine Boulevard is an existing two-lane undivided facility with flush shoulders approximately centered on the existing right-of-way (ROW). The Sailfish Canal runs parallel on the east side of the existing Sunshine Boulevard roadway. Work is occurring within existing disturbed roadways of Lee County (ROW) and improvements to the Sailfish Canal would occur within the Lehigh Acres Municipal Service Improvement District (LA-MSID) owned ROW. The project area has been altered by development and the construction of residential neighborhoods, roadways, and commercial buildings.

Upland Habitats: Upland habitat communities comprise 62.30 acres (77.98%) of the project area. Four upland land uses were found within the project area. These land uses include medium density residential (FLUCFCS 121), undeveloped land within urban areas

(FLUCFCS 191), herbaceous (dry prairie) (FLUCFCS 310), and roads and highways (FLUCFCS 814). Land use within the project area consists primarily of undeveloped land within urban areas.

Wetland Habitats: Surface waters comprise 17.59 acres (22.02%) of the project area and consist entirely of the Sailfish Canal. Sailfish Canal consists of FLUCFCS 512– Channelized Waterways, Canals; palustrine, unconsolidated bottom, sand, permanently flooded, excavated, which encompasses all the surface waters within the project

area and includes 17.59 acres of the project area. The Sailfish Canal is located entirely within LAMSID ROW in Lehigh Acres, Florida, and is connected to a grid of drainage canals.

PROJECT PURPOSE: The purpose of this project is to provide operational and safety improvements by widening the existing Sunshine Boulevard roadway from two-lanes to four-lanes with a six-lane ultimate condition. The existing Sunshine Boulevard is unable to meet increasing traffic demands and there is a need to improve emergency response times, evacuation routes, and service capabilities to the surrounding area.

Basic: To widen Sunshine Boulevard

Overall:  The proposed project would result in the widening of 2.12 miles of Sunshine Boulevard including improvements to the Sailfish Canal.

PROPOSED WORK: The applicant is proposing permanent fill and dredge impacts to the Sailfish Canal (SW-1 to SW-4). Additionally, the Sailfish Canal will be widened to accommodate the treatment required for the additional impervious area resulting from the widening of Sunshine Boulevard. Construction of the project will result in 11.13 acres of fill impacts and 7.93 acres of dredge impacts to the Sailfish Canal. There will be approximately 5.09 acres of creation or additional area of the Sailfish Canal in the proposed condition after construction. The area of the Sailfish Canal within the project will increase from 19.06 acres to 20.70 acres.

AVOIDANCE AND MINIMIZATION: The applicant has provided the following information in support of efforts to avoid and/or minimize impacts to the aquatic environment: Water quality impacts from construction will be avoided and minimized through the use of best management practices including, but not limited to, construction phasing, sediment and turbidity barriers, silt fences, and other techniques identified will be implemented during construction by the selected contractor.

COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: The applicant has provided the following explanation why compensatory mitigation should not be required: No impacts to wetlands are proposed by the project; therefore, no compensatory wetland mitigation is proposed. The dredge and fill impacts combined with the creation and widening of the Sailfish Canal will result in a net increase in the size of the canal by 1.64 acres. There will be no net loss of suitable habitat for threatened and endangered species as a result of the proposed actions in the canal. For these reasons, the adverse environmental impacts are no more than minimal and compensatory mitigation is not proposed for the impacts to the Sailfish Canal. Construction of the project will result in a net increase of 1.64 acres to the Sailfish Canal. Therefore, the proposed surface water impacts do not cause a reduction in abundance or diversity of wildlife and water quality will not be affected.

CULTURAL RESOURCES: The Corps evaluated the undertaking pursuant to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) utilizing its existing program-specific regulations and procedures along with 36 CFR Part 800. The Corps’ program-specific procedures include 33 CFR 325, Appendix C, and revised interim guidance issued in 2005 and 2007, respectively. The District Engineer consulted district files and records and the latest published version of the National Register of Historic Places and initially determines that:

Historic properties (i.e., properties listed in or eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places), are present within the Corps’ permit area; however, the undertaking will have no adverse effect on these historic properties. The Corps subsequently requests concurrence from the SHPO and/or THPO.

The District Engineer’s final eligibility and effect determination will be based upon coordination with the SHPO and/or THPO, as appropriate and required, and with full consideration given to the proposed undertaking’s potential direct and indirect effects on historic properties within the Corps-identified permit area.

ENDANGERED SPECIES: The Corps has performed an initial review of the application, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Information for Planning and Consultation (IPaC) to determine if any threatened, endangered, proposed, or candidate species, as well as the proposed and final designated critical habitat may occur in the vicinity of the proposed project. Based on this initial review, the Corps has made a preliminary determination that the proposed project may affect species and critical habitat listed below. No other ESA-listed species or critical habitat will be affected by the proposed action.

Table 2: ESA-listed species potentially present in the action area, there are no critical habitats within the project area.

Pursuant to Section 7 ESA, any required consultation with the Service(s) will be conducted in accordance with 50 CFR part 402.

This notice serves as request to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for any additional information on whether any listed or proposed to be listed endangered or threatened species or critical habitat may be present in the area which would be affected by the proposed activity.

ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT: Pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 1996, the Corps reviewed the project area, examined information provided by the applicant, and consulted available species information. The Corps has determined the proposal would have no effect on any Essential Fish Habitat (EFH). The project is located within a very populated and developed portion of Lehigh Acres called in Lee County. Work is occurring within existing disturbed roadway and a canal outside of areas that contain essential fish habitat. The majority of the areas have been altered by development and the construction of residential neighborhoods, roadways, and commercial buildings. Therefore, no consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service on EFH as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 1996 is required.  

NAVIGATION: The proposed structure or activity is not located in the vicinity of a federal navigation channel.

SECTION 408: The applicant will not require permission under Section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 USC 408) because the activity, in whole or in part,   would not alter, occupy, or use a Corps Civil Works project.

WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION: Water Quality Certification may be required from the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD). The project is being reviewed under SFWMD Application no. 240812-45159.

COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT CONSISTENCY: Coastal Zone Consistency Concurrence is required from the South Florida Water Management District. In Florida, the State approval constitutes compliance with the approved Coastal Zone Management Plan.

NOTE:  This public notice is being issued based on information furnished by the applicant. This information has not been verified or evaluated to ensure compliance with laws and regulation governing the regulatory program. The geographic extent of aquatic resources within the proposed project area that either are, or are presumed to be, within the Corps jurisdiction has not been verified by Corps personnel.

EVALUATION: The decision whether to issue a permit will be based on an evaluation of the probable impact including cumulative impacts of the proposed activity on the public interest. That decision will reflect the national concern for both protection and utilization of important resources. The benefits, which reasonably may be expected to accrue from the proposal, must be balanced against its reasonably foreseeable detriments. All factors which may be relevant to the proposal will be considered including cumulative impacts thereof; among these are conservation, economics, esthetics, general environmental concerns, wetlands, historical properties, fish and wildlife values, flood hazards, floodplain values, land use, navigation, shoreline erosion and accretion, recreation, water supply and conservation, water quality, energy needs, safety, food, and fiber production, mineral needs, considerations of property ownership, and in general, the needs and welfare of the people. A permit will be granted unless its issuance is found to be contrary to the public interest.

COMMENTS: The Corps is soliciting comments from the public; Federal, State, and local agencies and officials; Indian Tribes; and other Interested parties in order to consider and evaluate the impacts of this proposed activity. Any comments received will be considered by the Corps to determine whether to issue, modify, condition, or deny a permit for this proposal. To make this determination, comments are used to assess impacts to endangered species, historic properties, water quality, general environmental effects, and the other public interest factors listed above. Comments are used in the preparation of an Environmental Assessment (EA) and/or an Environmental Impact Statement pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Comments are also used to determine the need for a public hearing and to determine the overall public interest of the proposed activity.

The Jacksonville District will receive written comments on the proposed work, as outlined above, until July 25, 2025. Comments should be submitted electronically via the Regulatory Request System (RRS) at https://rrs.usace.army.mil/rrs or to Allison  Cala at Allison.J.Cala@usace.army.mil . Alternatively, you may submit comments in writing to the Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, Attention:  Allison  Cala, 701 San Marco Boulevard Jacksonville, Florida 32207. Please refer to the permit application number in your comments.

Any person may request, in writing, within the comment period specified in this notice, that a public hearing be held to consider the application. Requests for public hearings shall state, with particularity, the reasons for holding a public hearing. Requests for a public hearing will be granted, unless the District Engineer determines that the issues raised are insubstantial or there is otherwise no valid interest to be served by a hearing.

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